This application claims the benefit of priority of Japanese Patent Application No. 11-367758, filed on Dec. 24, 1999, which is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a storage box found in a vehicle. More particularly, the present invention relates to a console box where, among other features, items can be preserved for future retrieval.
2. Description of the Related Art
A storage box is often disposed in an automobile for purposes of storing small articles. Additional automobile amenities that provide for article storage include glove boxes, which are disposed adjacent to a dashboard, center console boxes, which are disposed in the central portion of a passenger compartment, and door pockets, which are disposed inside a door.
Regarding the center console box, a variety of embodiments are disclosed within Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. 5-338,497, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. 6-293,240, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. 6-99,775, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. 8-52,049 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. 8-113,086. All of the center console boxes found in these publications provide cover members (i.e. lids) that additionally serve as the opening-and-closing mechanism.
The applicants of the present invention developed a center console box as illustrated in FIG. 5 (Toyoda Gosei Technical Review, Volume No. 41, No. 1, issued on Jun. 30, 1999). This center console box has a lid, which is allowed a wide range of movement to help facilitate item storage and retrieval. After the lid is opened, applying a downward force to the rearward end of the lid rotates and descends the lid preventing the leading end of the lid from rising up to a highly obtrusive position. Accordingly, the lid minimally interferes with the passengers or their seating positions. Thus, such a center console box displays very favorable qualities.
However, since many of the opening and closing mechanisms disclosed in the aforementioned publications are intricate, there are excessive component parts. The result of such complexity requires increased production time which ultimately increases the manufacturing costs. Additionally, this added number of component parts increases the probability of lid malfunction.
Moreover, in the case of the center console box as illustrated in FIG. 5, an active force xe2x80x9cFxe2x80x9d as illustrated in FIG. 5 may be applied onto the lid before the lid is fully opened and turned rearward. In the instance such a large force acts on the trailing end of the lid, a greater force resulting from the momentum of the large force may place additional stress onto the lid and the sliding portion of the body, leading to increased lid malfunction.
In light of the center console box as illustrated in FIG. 5, it becomes necessary to design the lid by taking into account the extra strength need for the component parts to withstand these greater forces. This may include lid and body material reinforcement. However, when the thickness of the component members is increased, so too is the overall weight which reduces the space available in the body for storage.
The present invention has been developed in view of the aforementioned shortcomings. An object of the present invention is to provide a storage box, which does not require additional reinforcement, even in the face of greater force applied to the lid during manipulation. A further object of the present invention is to provide a lightweight design with a reduced number of component parts. The result of such an efficient design allows the storage box to be manufactured at lower costs.
In order to achieve the above objects, the inventors of the present invention have developed a lid, which carries out simultaneous translation and rotary movement.
For example, a storage box according to the present invention is characterized in that it comprises a body having a storage portion and a guide portion; a lid having a sliding portion engaged with and directed by the guide portion; and an arm member held rotatably by the body at one of the opposite ends and held rotatably by the lid at the remaining opposite end.
The body of the storage box, according to the present invention, is provided with the guide portion which guides the lid in addition to the storage portion. The lid is directed by the guide portion so that it carries out a translation movement along the body. Further, since the present storage box is provided with the arm member, which is held rotatably by the body at one of the opposite ends and held rotatably by the lid at the remaining opposite end, it is possible for the lid to carry out a rotary movement by way of the arm member moving with respect to the body. Thus, the lid of the present storage box can carry out a rotary movement simultaneously between opening and closing positions. With this structure, even when the lid receives a load at the rearward end during the opening movement, the lid accommodates the load and adjusts by carrying out a rotary movement. Accordingly, even if the lid is subjected to a spontaneous load or force, the lid accommodates the load by shifting rotatably along the body, thereby avoiding undue stress which may lead to lid malfunction. Therefore, it becomes unnecessary to additionally reinforce the lid or body to account for a spontaneous load or force.
Moreover, the lid opens and closes over the storage portion of the body by translation movement, simultaneous with the rotary movement, and does not obstructively protrude out at the rearward end. As a result, the lid fails to interfere with passenger seating and provides an efficient ergonomic feel within the car. In addition, the present storage box utilizes a reduced number of component parts, which decreases manufacture costs.
Note that the present storage box which is disposed inside a vehicle is not limited for vehicles use only, rather the storage box can achieve similar objectives and functions in a variety of environments.
In accordance with the storage box of the present invention, it becomes possible to design the box to be lightweight since traditional reinforcement measures used to strengthen the body or lid to accommodate for unexpected loads are not required. Moreover, the present storage box can be constructed using fewer parts, which reduces the associated manufacturing costs.